We went to England for the first time as a family in November of 2010

I loved it there

Aside from the fact we got to spend time with family and friends (some family and friends I was meeting for the first time no less) I truly fell in love with Northern England

London was nice

I loved seeing Buckingham Palace and someday, I hope we can go back and spend more time roaming around London and seeing all there is to see but if I were being honest…..

I could spend all my time in Northern England and be pretty happy

The grass was so green, it actually hurt my eyes

Stones walls created a maze over the pastures and the walls, hundreds of years old, are, aside from the Queen, probably the strongest things standing in Great Britain

And the sheep were so close, you could reach out and touch them (though I’m sure that would not be wise)

When I was a kid, I marveled at the Clydesdale horses; they were a treat to see at Bush Gardens or in Parades on TV

In England, Clydesdales are working horses
They were hanging out in the pastures on the side of the road so close I could touch them
And those horses were just as majestic as the ones pulling the beer wagon

The Moors were haunting and breathtaking all at the same time

They were cold and barren yet I wanted to stand as long as possible looking for I don’t know what to come out of the fog….. ….
But I thought if I stood there long enough, I would see something or someone emerge…….
That’s how haunting the Moors are

We drove through Bronte Country and though, in my opinion Wuthering Heights is over hyped and over rated (so is Ernest Hemingway), the landscape was gorgeous and breathtaking……..a couple times, I swear I heard the plea Let me in your window – I’m so cold!

Hebden Bridge

The 4^th funkiest town in the world
The lesbian capital of the UK
The burial grounds for one Sylvia Plath
Hebden Bridge was one of my favorite places to visits
How do you like that coming from a card carrying conservative?!
Hebden Bridge
The eclectic shops
The fish and chip place
The Watergate Tea Room (which my father-in-law took great delight in getting a picture of me standing in front of….so did I)
The canal filled with house boats (and I’m pretty sure gypsies)
The flea market
The landscape and scenery
I can’t wait to go back to Hebden Bridge

The roads were narrow but cars zipped along them as if they had all the room in the world

The washer and the dryer are one in the same (the washer is the dryer and the dryer is the washer) and the toilets flushed weird, but they had heated towel racks in all the bathrooms

And they recycle everything in its own little bucket…borderline annoying and turns putting out the trash into a 10 minute chore

They put a slice of egg in their sandwiches….and it was one of the best sandwiches I have ever had

And when you go to the market, you have to pay for to use a trolley cart 

Halifax has Piece Hall and a gibbet

And its Town Hall was designed by the same man who designed the Houses of Parliament

And it (England) might be more provincial than New England

And I truly can’t wait to go back

So we’re going again

This November

Maria the Mum